PISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
233 
the New England and New York fishing smacks followed the “blues” up the coast in the spring 
and entered Chesapeake Bay, where they caught large quantities. A law was enacted, however, 
excluding the northern bluefish fisherman from the bay, and since the enforcement of that law 
fishermen firmly believe that the bluefish has diminished in numbers in the bay, because the smacks 
bait the fish past the capes and prevent them from entering. The fact is, however, that vessels 
fishing for bluefish remain only a short while off the entrance of Chesapeake Bay, and during much 
the greater part of the fishing season no lures that prevent the fish from entering the bay are present. 
The abundance of menhaden (a favorite food) to some extent governs the movements of the 
bluefish. During 1921 and 1922 young menhaden were plentiful throughout the lower half of the 
bay, and in 1922 the catch of bluefish was greater than it had been for many years. 
Bluefish migrate up and down the Atlantic coast, following schools of menhaden and other 
fish, upon which they feed voraciously. In midwinter they are caught off southern Florida with 
purse seines and gill nets, together with Spanish mackerel. Large schools pass the Carolinas during 
March and April, and the first catches are made off New Jersey and Long Island during April and 
May. In southern Massachusetts the first catch is usually made late in May. From this vicinity 
northward the fishery is small, and only a few stragglers are taken along the coast of Maine during 
the summer. 
Bluefish enter the Chesapeake as stragglers late in March or early in April. In 1922, in a set of 
pound nets at Lynnhaven Roads, Va., the first fish of the season was taken on April 3. The first 
capture was made at Ocean View on April 1. On April 7 a set of three pound nets at Ocean View 
caught 12 bluefish, weighing 1 to 2 pounds each. The combined catch for the season of 75 small 
pound nets near Buckroe Beach, prior to April 11, was about 20 bluefish. The first fair catches are 
made some time in May. During June, July, and August the pound-net catches are small, although 
the fish are present in the bay and are taken in small numbers with hook and line and with gill 
nets. In September the pound-net catches increase, and during October the largest catches of the 
year are made. At Ocean View and Lynnhaven Roads small quantities often continue to be taken 
by the pound nets until about November 15. 
Bluefish do not appear to ascend the bay to the northern sections, as the catch decreases rapidly 
above the mouth of the York River. All fishermen questioned unanimously stated that at one time 
bluefish, especially of large size, were abundant in Chesapeake Bay and were caught in compara- 
tively large numbers as far north as Annapolis. The following statements pertaining to specific 
localities were obtained from conversations with fishermen: 
Mouth of Rappahannock River, July 20, 1921: The fish are scarce this year, as in the past few 
years. The species is seldom seen now, but at one time large schools entered the lower part of the 
river. Last spring (1921) one pound net caught five bluefish and another caught four. 
Lower Potomac River, August 6, 1921: Twenty years ago bluefish were plentiful opposite 
St. George Island and many large ones were caught in nets and with hand line. At the present time 
and during the past 10 years they have been very scarce, and only occasionally one is caught, 
usually a small one. April 21, 1922: Fifteen years ago bluefish were plentiful. They used to come 
in the spring and meet the glut herring passing out of the river and feed upon them. These fish 
were often large, weighing 6 to 12 pounds. Now only a few small ones are taken, generally weighing" 
Yz to 3 pounds. 
Crisfield, Md., November 21, 1921: Very few are caught and the size seldom exceeds 2 pounds. 
Most of the very small annual catch is taken in the fall with pound nets. A few are taken during 
the summer and fall with gill nets. 
Oxford, Md., September 13, 1921: Bluefish have not been plentiful in this locality for 15 years. 
They have been decreasing steadily in numbers until now they are very scarce. During the present 
year fishing parties have been catching an odd one now and then with hook and line. One fisher- 
man, who fishes regularly with hook and line, caught four this year. Very few are caught in pound 
nets. A school of these fish had not been seen in this locality for years, but on September 7, 1921, a 
small school was sighted off Cooks Point. The usual size of the fish caught at the present time is 
about 1 pound. 
Solomons, Md., August 9, 1921: Twenty years ago large schools of bluefish entered the lower 
Patuxent and were caught about Solomons Island. The size of these fish averaged from 2 to 7 
pounds. During the past eight years the fish have disappeared. This year hook-and-line fishermen 
